Saturday March 24, 2012
Armenian Cultural and Ed. center
47 Nichols Ave
Watertown, Ma
617-926.6067
Time: 7-9 Pm

and heightened public awareness

Los Angeles, February 2, 2012 – During January 27-29, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) conducted a highly successful recruitment campaign in Lebanon.

Led by Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of ABMDR, the campaign enjoyed the full support of the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon (ARCL). Throughout the three-day initiative, ARCL chair Taline Koulbashian and other leaders of the organization facilitated several recruitments in Beirut, Aynjar, and elsewhere. Moreover, they helped raise public awareness of the ABMDR mission through various media outlets and made informative presentations at recruitment events.

“We are so very touched by the warm welcome we received from the Armenian-Lebanese community as a whole and the Armenian Relief Cross in particular,” said Dr. Avagyan, who throughout the recruitments was accompanied by ABMDR staff members Naira Mkrtchyan and Gohar Malkhasyan.

On January 27 and 28, recruitments were held at the Araxi Boulghourjian Center in Burj Hamud, the Homenetmen Aghpalian Club in Antelias, and two other districts with sizeable Armenian communities. The recruitment effort continued on January 29, with a major event held at the ARCL Clinic in the Armenian town of Aynjar.

All of the recruitments, which featured informative lectures by Dr. Avagyan and ARCL personnel as well as ABMDR information boots, were attended by large numbers of supporters. The events resulted in a total of 262 recruits as potential bone marrow stem cell donors.

“My colleagues and I were delighted to promote the ABMDR cause and were overjoyed to see so many young people interested in being recruited,” Mrs. Koulbashian said.

In addition to providing logistical support for the realization of the recruitment events, the ARCL leadership ensured that the ABMDR campaign would receive maximum media exposure.

On January 27 Dr. Avagyan gave interviews to the “Vana Dzayn” Armenian radio program as well as the OTV television station. Topics discussed by Dr. Avagyan in both interviews included life-threatening blood-related illnesses such as leukemia, the history and mission of ABMDR, and the vital importance of Diaspora Armenians joining the ranks of the registry as potential bone marrow donors. The recruitment campaign also received coverage by Aztag Daily.

Commenting on the success of the recruitments, Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR, stated, “The activism of the Armenian-Lebanese community is truly inspiring. What Dr. Avagyan and his assistants witnessed in Lebanon is an outstanding spirit of volunteerism which we can all be proud of. With this regard, our special thanks go to Mrs. Taline Koulbashian and all of her colleagues at ARCL, for their hard work and tremendous dedication to our shared mission.”

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 21,554 donors in 13 countries across three continents, identified 2,135 patients, found 1,753 potential matches, and facilitated 13 bone marrow transplants.

makes history by hosting first European Federation of Immunogenetics meeting in Armenia
The prestigious conference is dedicated to training and education in the fields of immunogenetics and bone marrow/stem cell transplantation

Los Angeles, November 29, 2011 – The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) reached a new milestone this month when it hosted the first-ever European Federation of Immunogenetics (EFI) Training and Educational Meeting to be held in Armenia.

The high-profile symposium took place in Yerevan during November 18-19 at the Ani Plaza Hotel. Featuring world-renowned speakers from Europe and elsewhere, it brought together close to 150 doctors and experts in the fields of immunogenetics and bone marrow transplantation. The meeting was attended by participants representing more than 15 countries from Europe, the region, and the CIS including Armenia, Iran, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and others.

With sessions dedicated to recent advances in HLA (human leukocyte antigen) immunogenetics, stem cell and organ transplantation, and HLA-disease associations, the conference functioned as a global forum for sharing scientific expertise and expanding the knowledge base of participants. As importantly, the event fostered international medical cooperation and helped pave the way for the advancement of immunogenetics in various countries. The conference was organized by ABMDR, under the auspices and major sponsorship of EFI. Other top sponsors of the event included Fruitfull Armenia, Dr. Arpenik Avagyan, and Dr. Evgeni Sokurenko.

The selection of Armenia as the host country of the EFI meeting was made in January of this year. As announced by the EFI leadership, the main factors in selecting Armenia were the scope and quality of ABMDR’s work. Specifically, the federation cited ABMDR’s HLA tissue typing laboratory in Yerevan as the only, and EFI-accredited, facility of its kind in the entire region.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, welcome remarks were delivered by Dr. Ara Babloyan, chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs, Healthcare, and Environmental Protection; Dr. Sergey Khachatryan, deputy minister of health; Dr. Ilias Doxiadis, president of EFI; Dr. Bella Kocharyan, honorary chair of ABMDR; Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR; and Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of ABMDR.

As Dr. Avagyan spoke of ABMDR’s accomplishments and goals, he stated: “Our tissue typing operation has had the challenge of responding to a tremendous influx in prospective bone marrow stem cell donors due to the great success of our efforts, both in the U.S. and throughout the diaspora. Last year, which marked our registry’s tenth anniversary, recruitment teams registered an astounding 5,000 donors within a short span. This is, of course, a good challenge to have, as we currently have over 1,500 patient families seeking a donor match from our registry.”

Dr. Avagyan’s aim of reaching out to larger numbers of patients struck by life-threatening blood-related diseases was echoed by Dr. Bella Kocharyan. “We view the EFI meeting in Yerevan as a stepping stone toward the establishment of a bone marrow transplantation center in Armenia,” she said.

As Dr. Frieda Jordan addressed conference participants, she underscored the significance of the EFI meeting in Armenia. “Six  years ago,” she said, “we welcomed our first EFI colleagues to Yerevan, when they came to inspect our laboratory operations. A few months after their visit, we learned that ABMDR was granted EFI accreditation — ours was the first laboratory of its kind in the CIS to receive it. Now we experience another first for the registry, and for Armenia: hosting an international scientific symposium of this caliber is an honor, and — we hope — an opportunity to continue to ‘surprise’ our colleagues with the quality of our work and the progress we have made.”

“We owe much of our success to plain hard work and the dedication of the ABMDR staff and volunteers,” Dr. Jordan continued. “But we also owe it to colleagues such as yourselves who, for many years before us, have created the models for success and set the standards for our work. And now, perhaps, we are in a position to ‘give back’ to our colleagues. ABMDR has not only built a foundation for its own success, but can also be a source of information for other registries getting started. Each of our registries is a beacon of hope for all who suffer from life-threatening blood-related diseases. At this EFI meeting, we are gathered to share our knowledge with each other as we all work toward giving the greatest gift imaginable: life itself.”

Speaking on behalf of EFI, Dr. Ilias Doxiadis had high praise for ABMDR as he addressed the attendees. Citing ABMDR’s global efforts in the past several months to launch the EFI meeting in Yerevan, Dr. Doxiadis applauded the registry’s success in helping provide an international platform where foremost immunogenetics specialists could share their expertise with colleagues from a diversity of countries. Dr. Doxiadis expressed hope that the meeting would lead to new avenues of cooperation between current EFI members such as ABMDR and other conference participants.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, EFI Region 8 chair Dr. Chryssa Papasteriades congratulated ABMDR for hosting the unprecedented event. “This has been a fantastic symposium,” she said. “The top-notch scientific program, the excellent coordination, the memorable social events that complemented the various sessions, and, above all, the wonderful diversity of participants as well as the friendly, infinitely supportive atmosphere resulted in an extraordinary success.”

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 21,554 donors in 13 countries across three continents, identified 2,135 patients, found 1,753 potential matches, and facilitated 13 bone marrow transplants.

For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.

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[CAPTIONS]

1) [Speakers and participants.jpg]

A scene from the conference. Speakers included, from left, Prof. Ilias Doxiadis, president of EFI; Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR; Dr. Ann-Margaret Little, director of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Glasgow; Dr. Chryssa Papasteriades, EFI Region 8 commissioner; Dr. Carlheinz Mueller, vice-president of the World Marrow Donor Association Europe/Africa; Prof. Ardeshir Gavamzadeh, head of Tehran University Medical School Hematology-Oncology and BMT Research Center; Prof. Gottfried Fischer, Medical University of Vienna; and Dr. Gurvinder Kaur, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

2) [Dr. Jordan addressing conference.jpg]

Dr. Frieda Jordan addressing the conference.

3) [Avagyan, Jordan, Kocharyan.jpg]

From left: ABMDR executive director Dr. Sevak Avagyan, ABMDR president Dr. Frieda Jordan; and ABMDR honorary chair Dr. Bella Kocharyan.

4) [Conference participants with EFI Board members.jpg]

Conference participants with EFI Board members and ABMDR staff.

[PHOTO CREDIT]

All photos courtesy of ABMDR.

Los Angeles, October 26, 2011 – For the first time in its history, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) held a Walk of Life event in Fresno, California, in addition to its annual walkathon in Los Angeles.

Walk of Life 2011, which took place on October 15 and 22 in Fresno and Glendale, California, respectively, was attended by large numbers of supporters from throughout the Armenian community as well as several elected officials. Both events received extensive media coverage.

In an interview with We Are Fresno co-host Stephanie Booroojian (seen on NBC Fresno affiliate KSEE 24), ABMDR president Dr. Frieda Jordan commented on the significance of the registry’s first-ever Fresno walkathon. “I think it’s extremely important for Fresno’s community at large to be aware of the registry’s work,” she said.

“Fresno is among areas in California which may face higher-than-normal health risks due to industrial pollution, particularly in terms of the use of pesticides,” Dr. Jordan continued. “These risk factors can be responsible for a prevalence of life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, which has already claimed the lives of many Armenians in Fresno. By registering as potential bone marrow stem cell donors, our supporters can actually save the life of a fellow Armenian who might need a bone marrow transplant.”

A first for Fresno

Walk of Life 2011 kicked off on the morning of October 15 at Fresno’s Eaton Plaza Amphitheater, as teams of supporters from various local organizations gathered to take part in the event. The teams represented the AGBU Fresno Chapter (led by chairperson Zaroohi Der Mugrdechian), the ANC of Fresno (led by chairperson Hygo Ohanessian), the ARS Fresno Mayr Chapter (led by chairperson Angele Ohanessian), the AYF Fresno Kevork Chavoush Chapter (led by chairperson Rita Costanian), and the Fresno State Armenian Students Association (led by Vartush Mesropyan).

Following Dr. Jordan’s welcome remarks and the invocation by Fr. Vahan Gosdanian of the Western Prelacy, the participants walked to the historic Statue of David of Sassoon at the Courthouse Park and on to the landmark Saroyan Theater. Subsequently they returned to the Eaton Plaza Amphitheater to enjoy a day-long celebration featuring music and food. Participants also had the opportunity to join the ranks of ABMDR by inquiring at information and recruitment booths set up throughout the venue.

“What a profoundly rewarding experience this has been!” said Dr. Karoline Rostamiani of the ABMDR Board of Advisors, who co-chaired the Fresno and Los Angeles Walk of Life 2011 events with fellow Board member Dr. Stella Baghdasarian. “We applaud the Fresno Armenian community, and especially the wonderful young generation, for taking part in the maiden ABMDR walkathon of their city, for organizing at the grass roots and spreading the word, and for making generous donations,” Dr. Rostamiani stated. “Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who got involved.”

On her part, Dr. Stella Baghdasarian, who had an instrumental role in organizing volunteers and overseeing the logistics of Walk of Life 2011, expressed her “profound admiration for all those who participated in the walkathon, particularly youth groups.”

In Los Angeles: a powerful expression of solidarity

A week later, on the morning of October 22, the Armenian community of Los Angeles in turn rallied in support of Walk of Life 2011. Hundreds gathered outside Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center, where the event’s opening ceremony was held.

In her remarks, Dr. Jordan said, “Our sixth annual walkathon is dedicated especially to our patients. This is a walk of solidarity with them, and an ongoing, impassioned effort to help give them the gift of life.”

Dignitaries whose presence Dr. Jordan acknowledged included US congressman and longtime ABMDR supporter Adam Schiff, California State senator Carol Liu, Glendale mayor Laura Friedman, Burbank mayor Jess Talamantes, Glendale Unified School District Board of Education president Greg Krikorian, and Glendale Community Development Department director Hassan Haghani.

After she thanked the walkathon’s two main corporate sponsors, Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center (an ABMDR Partner for Life) and Karoun Dairies, Inc., Dr. Jordan also acknowledged the many teams participating in the event, particularly youth teams from area universities, Armenian schools, Glendale Unified District schools, and various community organizations.

Next to take the podium was Congressman Adam Schiff, who stated, “You can imagine the trauma of a family whose child’s life depends on a bone marrow transplant. The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry brings hope to such families, by matching potential stem cell donors to patients suffering from life-threatening diseases.”

On her part, Mayor Laura Friedman, a cancer survivor, praised the work of the registry and thanked all participants for their unflinching support of its mission.

The walk started following the invocation, which was delivered jointly by Fr. Vazken Atmajian of the Western Prelacy, Archpriest Fr. Hovhannes Maroukian of the Western Diocese, and Rev. Joseph Matossian of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America.

Passing through central Glendale, the almost four-mile walkathon concluded in Verdugo Park, where the success of the event was celebrated well into the afternoon, in a festive community atmosphere featuring food, live music as well as several donor-recruitment and health-information booths.

Following congratulatory remarks delivered by Senator Carol Liu, who is a longtime advocate of breast-cancer awareness, Dr. Karoline Rostamiani thanked all participating schools and Armenian Student Associations for their enthusiastic involvement. She also conveyed special gratitude to the US Army Armenian Veterans for taking part in the walkathon.

In addition to Senator Liu, dignitaries attending the festivities included Grigor Hovhannisyan, consul general of Armenia in Los Angeles.

With each passing year, the number of elected officials who recognize ABMDR and lend it their moral support continues to grow. As it was announced during the festivities at Verdugo Park, the registry received a Certificate of Achievement from the office of Mike Gatto, a member of the California State Assembly who represents the 43^rd District.

Commenting on the growing Armenian-youth presence within the ranks of ABMDR, Dr. Vergine Madelian, the registry’s outreach officer, stated, “Over two-thirds of our donors are below 35 years old and 27 percent are under 25. The younger the donors, the longer they stay active in the registry, and the higher their chances of matching a patient somewhere down the line. This is youth power in the best possible sense.”

The festivities at Verdugo Park were made all the more thrilling thanks to musical performances by a number of volunteer artists. They included Nersig Ispiryan, Joseph Krikorian, Karen Boksian, Hratch Bogharian, Ara Shahbazian, and Vatche Demirjian.

Toward the end of the celebration, raffle drawings were held and trophies were bestowed on the most active walkathon teams and individual volunteers. The Boston Team, headed by ABMDR Board of Directors members Dr. Evelyn Baghdasraian and Alvart Badalian, was awarded for having raised the most funds; the Chamlian School Team was awarded for having the highest number of participants; and Amy Boyadjian received a trophy for having raised the most funds as an individual volunteer.

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 21,554 donors in 13 countries across three continents, identified 2,135 patients, found 1,753 potential matches, and facilitated 13 bone marrow transplants.

For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit www.abmdr.am

The event was held Saturday and was hosted by the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Organizers said it is particularly difficult to find genetic matches for patients of Armenian descent.

The walk was dedicated to 10 patients in Los Angeles hoping to find donors soon.